Falling In Love In a Coffee Shop
by do.you.care.enough
Summary: Five years after Rory turns down Logan’s proposal and graduates from Yale University, she’s faced with the man she once loved, lost, turned down once, and turned down again. Is it love again, or has too much damage been done?
1. Chapter One: South of Nowhere

**Title:** Falling In Love In a Coffee Shop

**Author:** DoYouCareEnough

**Rating:** T for language, and maybe some sexual themes. (Ha! It makes it sounds like it's a movie or something!)

**Summary:** Five years after Rory turns down Logan's proposal and graduates from Yale University, she's faced with the man she once loved, lost, turned down once, and turned down again. Is it love again, or has too much damage been done?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gilmore Girls, nor do I own the lyrics to "Falling In Love In a Coffee Shop" by Landon Pigg.

**A/N:** Hope you like it.

* * *

Falling In Love In A Coffee Shop

By DoYouCareEnough

*****

"I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you

Yes, there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you…

No one understands me quite like you do

Through all of the shadowy corners of me…"

****

Chapter One

South of Nowhere

*****

**The funny thing about saying something is lost is that really, nothing is ever really lost. **Whatever it is is always somewhere. It may be stuffed between two couch cushions, or maybe it just fell out of your pocket on the way to work one morning. You may never see it again, but it isn't really lost.

That's just the way I see it.

Years ago I thought I lost Jess' love for me. Well, actually, it was more like I felt like Jess' love for me was taken from me. Ripped violently and painfully away. It sat on a bus and rode away without my knowledge. It was never coming back. Or that's how it felt.

And then he came to Yale. Then I went to Truncheon. The story has been told and re-told many times in my head, until it became old news. It felt like it hadn't really happened to me. It was as though it was something I read in a book, or saw on TV or in a movie. You feel sad for a minute. _Oh, that's too bad_, you think. You're glad something like this didn't have to happen to you. And then, oh, you realize that yes, it did happen to you. _Shit_, you think. And then the pain becomes real, becomes your own.

Sometimes I wonder if I could have saved myself a lot of grief if I hadn't rejected Jess when he came to Yale. Like, I wouldn't have had to go through the whole thing with Dean or Logan. I never would have quit Yale, I never would have pissed Emily off so much.

But then, maybe that was all part of the process, of the journey. Maybe things were truly meant to be played out the way they did. And, I can't deny the fact that Jess really did change when he went to Philadelphia. And I, too, changed at about the same rate. But, whereas Jess changed for the better, I think I changed for the worst. Everyone I know will tell me that I'm still the same amazing Rory I've always been, just maybe with better clothes and better hair.

I'm not so sure.

The funny thing about the world is that it can chew you up and spit you out and leave you laying there going, _it can't get any worse_, and then it will show you, _hell yes_ it can get worse. Or, after it's left you flat on your face it can lift you up and show you that hey, there are people out here that love me. The world is a bitch like that. You never know what its going to do.

I guess that's what makes life interesting. Not knowing what to expect.

But I think sometimes it would be nice to know what's going to happen.

*****

Sometimes, if I get the chance, I'll go down to the bookstore and go to where Jess' book sits on the shelf and I'll pick it up and start reading it. Though I actually own the book, there's something really neat about seeing it on an actual shelf in an actual bookstore. It's a weird feeling to see the price tag on it, and the little barcode. As I read it, I like to pretend that Jess is sitting there reading to me like he used to in the short time that we actually dated. I like to pretend that the words he wrote were written to me exclusively.

Today I decided I was going to go see his book again. I had no time to read it, but I was feeling exceptionally lonely and, though I didn't like to admit it, I missed Jess. Terribly. I haven't seen him or talked to him in so long, but my heart knows him well, so it feels like a piece is missing. I've always felt like that, even if I never said it. I would try to fill the void with other things, like writing and Logan and school and reading, but, truly, I knew deep down that the thing I was missing the most was Jess.

As I walked into the entrance of Barnes & Noble, a book on the front table caught my eye. I drifted to the table and picked up the said book, and I had to read the author's name twice before I could really grasp who it was.

Jess had written another book.

It was priced at $15.99, and that was fine with me. I would never spend an hour's worth of pay on a book that I didn't know what it was about under normal circumstances but this was definitely not a normal circumstance.

After I paid I went to the Starbuck's that was located inside, and ordered a coffee and sat down so I could start reading.

Jess' book was called South of Nowhere. And it wasn't like his last book, a novelette. This sucker was a novel. It was at least four hundred pages long. I opened the page to the Acknowledgments, and the first thing that surprised me was the very first name on there.

_"To my daughter Paige: This is my promise to you, that when you're old enough to read this, I'll still be around to read it with you."  
_

Jess is a father. The thought made me smile. Jess would be a great father. An absolutely fantastic father. That I had no doubt of. My selfish self scanned the rest of the Acknowledgments quickly for any mention of a wife, fiancé, or even a girlfriend. I saw nothing. But, as I was scanning it, the very last name jumped out and practically flung cold water in my face.

_"To R.G. I have always loved you most. You are my greatest inspiration, and the only reason that I cranked out four hundred and twenty-six pages." _Okay, R.G. Is that me? No, it could be anyone. Rachel Gere. Raina Geller. Riley Green. Anyone. The possibilities are endless.

And yes, I know how stupid this sounds. I've been going on and on about how much I love Jess, and then when he seems to be saying that he loves me, I start freaking out and denying it. Sometimes the very thing that you want the most is the very thing that you want the least. It's just that I'm so afraid of having a relationship with him for the simple fact that it may not last. Right now, when nothing is happening, there's still the idea that we can be together. It might happen. But if one of us ruins it again, I already know that there is no chance for redemption. It will be over. We've run out of chances. It's now or never, and that is why I'm afraid.

The acknowledgment continued, _"I was impossibly sad to see you go, and there were a thousand things that I wished I had said but couldn't seem to find the voice to do so. Just know that this book is for you. It's all for you."_

Shit.

I started reading at 6:28 a.m. (what can I say? I felt like being an early bird that morning even though I had nowhere else to go) and I finished at 6:22 a.m.

There was no stopping except for bathroom breaks and brief expeditions to the kitchen for more Cajun trail mix or another cup of old coffee.

At 6:23 a.m., I realized why this book was for me. It was one line from the sixth chapter that I'd written down on a Post-It note so that I would never forget it. At this point, I was so intoxicated in the reading that I forgot that this book had been written for me.

The line was this: _"This world means little to me today because you are not with me."_

_

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_

**A/N: **Please review. Constructive criticism is always welcome, and I really hope you enjoyed this! Not a very long update, but it's sort of a prologue of sorts. Other chapters will be longer, I promise.

Special thanks to **Vera Cobb** for helping me out, or, well, giving me the line of Acknowledgment to Paige.

Oh, one last thing. I am also a beta reader, so let me know if you're looking for one.


	2. Chapter Two: Willing To

**Title:** Falling In Love In a Coffee Shop

**Author:** DoYouCareEnough

**Rating:** T for language, and maybe some sexual themes. (Ha! It makes it sounds like it's a movie or something!)

**Summary:** Five years after Rory turns down Logan's proposal and graduates from Yale University, she's faced with the man she once loved, lost, turned down once, and turned down again. Is it love again, or has too much damage been done?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gilmore Girls. Nor do I own the lyrics to "Falling In Love In a Coffee Shop" by Landon Pigg.

**A/N:** Here's Chapter Two. Are you ready for this?

* * *

Chapter Two

Willing To

*****

**It was almost as if the world came to a complete standstill**. As though the barista stopped crushing ice for a frappacino, the browsers stopped reading jacket covers, and the cashiers stopped punching in codes to their computers. I, myself, felt like I couldn't move. I was stuck. I didn't know what to say or what to do next. This was one weird way to tell someone you loved them. What if I hadn't read the Acknowledgments? I swear to God, sometimes Jess doesn't think things through very well.

But, one thing about this, I fell in love again as I read the Acknowledgments once again. If I hadn't been in love with Jess before, I sure as hell was now. My heart swelled with just, affection and adoration and just plain love.

Shutting the book and sticking it in my purse, I pondered what to do next. The most obvious answer was to just go straight to Philadelphia. Catch a train, sleep on the way, all that jazz. Fling myself into his arms and then we can plan our life. But, no. It couldn't be like that. We weren't teenagers. This wasn't an epic love story. We were two grown adults and, apparently, he was a father. We couldn't afford to be reckless this time around. We couldn't just fling ourselves into this. We had to talk it out, figure out why we didn't work in the first place, all of that stuff.

I hated thinking things through. Honestly. Though I used to live for pro/con lists, now they make me sick. Somehow, over the year, I've started to love spur-of-the-moment-ness, started to live by not thinking things through, just jumping in. It's reckless, it's stupid, but it's fun.

Driving home seemed like the best option right now. There I could look at my calendar, see what was coming up, see what obligations I had.

As I did drive home, I began to think about his daughter. Paige. Cute name. Definitely a name that Jess would pick out. Or did the mother? Whatever. I wondered what Paige looked like. I imagined her with dark, dark brown hair with Jess' brown eyes and mouth. Olive skin, maybe some freckles. And then I realized that I was imagining what mine and Jess' daughter would look like. Who knew what Paige's mom looked like? She could be African-American, or Asian, and then Paige would look nothing like him.

My calendar was truly hopeless. There was a dentist appointment in two weeks, and my annual mammogram in three. Nothing for work. No social obligations, which wasn't a surprise since I left that life behind the same time I left Logan behind.

Though I was not planning to, I ended up dialing Jess' cell phone number on my own cell phone. I listened to the ringing for what seemed like an eternity, when I heard an answering machine pick it up.

"Hello, this is the Mariano residence! We're not home right now so if you can leave your name and number we might just call you back!" A chirpy, very cute little girl's voice sang out. I smiled, imagining the look on Jess' face every time he heard her speak. I didn't even know the girl and I could imagine just how adorable she is. I waited until the beep, and then I realized that I didn't know exactly what to say. Uh… Shit.

"Um, hi, Jess. Well, I read the book. And the Acknowledgments. So can you call me?" I told him my home and cell phone number, and then hung up.

Fifteen minutes later, I was basically twiddling my thumbs when the phone rang. I jumped when Muse's "Hysteria" began to play out, and then realized, "Hey, that's your ringtone, dumb one." I pressed answer on my Voyager, and greeted, "Hello."

"Rory?" the oh-so familiar voice said softly.

"Jess. Hi," I said, sounding a lot more at ease than I was. _This is Jess. You're talking to Jess_, I thought. It seemed like a dream. How many times had I imagined our first conversation in years? I'd never gotten far, never much past the greeting. I'd erased and re-started many times, making it better and more elaborate and romantic each time.

"You read the book?" he said as a question, not a statement. _Didn't you listen to the message?_

"Yep. Good stuff," I said awkwardly. "Okay, are we going to talk about this or are we going to just chitchat?" I heard Jess sigh, and then take a deep breath.

"I have a daughter. Her name is Paige."

"So I read."

"Her mom left when Paige was a year old. Went back to Las Vegas. Decided that her career was more important. She's a casino host, you know. That's how I met her. A few of us guys from Truncheon took a vacation when we reach fifty-thousand books printed, and I met her. One-night stand, she got pregnant. She came out to Philly to stay with me, and then left. And here we are." Oh, geez. What a crappy mom.

"Wow. Just… wow," was all I could say.

"I moved to Florida. Pensacola, actually."

"Why?" I asked, curious.

"Don't know. Wanted a change of pace. I was tired of Truncheon and Philadelphia, I didn't want to go back to New York or especially Stars Hollow." I could practically hear his grin through the phone. "Are you living in the Hollow?"

"God, you make it sound like it's gang territory or something. But, no. I moved away a few years ago. I moved to Phoenix, actually."

"Phoenix? Holy shit, you moved far away."

"Yep. Like you said, I wanted a change of pace."

"Fight with your mom?" he asked, right on the dot. It's annoying how Jess can just pick up exactly what I'm feeling from the tone of my voice. But granted, he's Jess. He's always been able to do that. Always understood me better than most other people.

"She didn't marry Luke."

"Yeah, I know."

"She's afraid, still. My father keeps trying to win her back, and I was tired of all that and wanted to get out of Connecticut. Away from her. Away from my grandparents. Away from that God-forsaken town. I don't know why all of a sudden all things Stars Hollow are repulsive."

"What are the chances of you being able to come down here?"

"Um, possibly very big. The paper I look at lets me work from home, so as long as you have Wi-Fi I should be good. Let me call my boss and I'll get back to you ASAP. Okay?" He agrees, and we hang up. Then, after only five minutes of talking to my boss—who's always liked me, I guess because I work hard and don't piss him off on a regular basis like most of the other journalists on staff—I got permission to work from my computer for a couple weeks.

I called Jess after that and let him know the news, and he offered to pay for my airplane ticket. When I declined, he said that he wasn't taking no for an answer because, "Paige's mom is rich. Rich means she pays a lot of child support. A lot. And you know what, how about I pay for your hotel room, too?"

"Jess, no," I'd said.

"Oh, well, if you _insist_, I can pay for a suite instead."

"Jess, no," I repeated.

"God, Rory. You're really stretching me thin but if you absolutely _must _have the room with the Jacuzzi then, well, I guess I have no choice."

"Jess! Stop!" I laughed. "If you really want to then you can pay."

"Alright, then. Was that so hard?"

*****

It took me a few minutes to truly and completely realize what had just happened. I'd just agreed to go completely across the country to a very unfamiliar place, and see my old boyfriend who I hadn't seen in over five years and his daughter whose mother I didn't know. _What the hell am I thinking?_ I practically screamed at myself.

Yeah, this is Jess. Yeah, this is the guy that I love. The guy that understands me and makes me better and makes me whole. The only guy that I can say that life truly isn't as good without.

I've never been a fan of darkness or night. If it was possible, I'd go to sleep before sunset and get up after dawn. That way I could just pretend like it was never dark. I think the reason that I don't like the dark is because you never know what it holds. When you walk into your apartment late at night after a long day of work and you just want to sleep, you never know if there's someone right around the corner ready to put a gun to your head, or if an old friend has decided to surprise you and is sitting on your couch, waiting. Whereas an intruder is just as terrifying and a visitor is just as exciting in the light, the darkness makes it unknown. The darkness is full of surprises, like when you think there's one more step in a flight of stairs and there's that one split second that your foot fall and you're not expecting it. You brace yourself on the railing, thinking you're going to fall, when you realize that everything is okay, that you just misjudged.

In a way, Jess is like that. Though I don't like to say he's "dark" or anything like that, he has some of the same attributes. I don't know what to expect with him. He keeps me full of surprises and just a little anxious for what is going to happen next, which can be both a blessing and a curse.

Did I want to go? Truly and honestly, did I want to go? Was I willing to risk it all? Heartbreak, stability, a chance at love once again? How much was I really willing to give up for Jess? If things went well, would I be willing to have a long-distance relationship? Willing to give up a job? Would I be willing to move down to Florida? Would I be okay with the fact that he might not want to uproot his daughter's life and move across the country for me?

How much would I let go for a guy? Was there anything that I was not going to give up? Anything that had to stay the same?

Going back to Jess could ruin a lot of things, could burn some bridges. Jess is a heart breaker, and I know all-to well exactly what it feels like to have my heart shattered into a million pieces over him. _Was I_ _willing to go through that… again_?

Though I hadn't talked to my mother in a very long time, was I willing to risk what she thinks of me? Me getting back together with Jess would more than likely not sit well with her. She'd have a hard time accepting that he has a daughter with another woman, would have a hard time accepting the fact that the mother could come back at anytime.

Emotionally investing myself in someone is hard. I've learned that time and time again, mostly with boyfriends: Dean, Jess, Logan. But I've learned it with people that are expected to be stable, people that are expected to have your best interests in heart and give it all up for you: my father, my grandparents. So was I willing to be disappointed again? To take that risk that you always have to take when you put your trust in someone, and just… jump? Was I willing to jump?

I almost have my decision and I don't have my decision at all. One minute my mind is made and then I'm not so sure and then my mind is made up again. But, honestly, did I want to always be wishing and wondering, hoping and dreaming? Thirty years from now when I'm either in a crappy marriage, or still single, did I want to be sitting there thinking, _what if I'd gone to Jess?_

No, I wouldn't. Not at all.

And so, I guess, my decision was made.

* * *

**A/N: **Dun, dun, duhhhhhn! Hope you liked Chapter Two. I'll be posting Chapter Three in exactly one week (and I know this for a fact because it's already written and sitting in my Document Manager right this very second!)

Please read and review! I'm already so pleased with the reaction to this story... It's already looking like it's going to be my most popular story yet! I especially liked that I have a mostly new audience with this story than my other GG stories, but I still have some of my old favorite reviewers (Curley-Q, Vera Cobb, kylielink)


	3. Chapter Three: Skanks On a Plane

**Title:** Falling In Love In a Coffee Shop

**Author:** DoYouCareEnough

**Rating:** T for language, and maybe some sexual themes. (Ha! It makes it sounds like it's a movie or something!)

**Summary:** Five years after Rory turns down Logan's proposal and graduates from Yale University, she's faced with the man she once loved, lost, turned down once, and turned down again. Is it love again, or has too much damage been done?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gilmore Girls, nor do I own the lyrics to "Here We Go Again" by Demi Lovato.

**A/N:** Special thanks to my beta, the exceptionally talented **Vera Cobb**. You rock!

* * *

Chapter Three

Skanks on a Plane

*****

"_Hard as I try I know I can't quit; something about you is so addictive_

_We're falling together_

_You think that by now I'd know 'cause here we go, go, go again."_

_­_-Demi Lovato, "Here We Go Again"

*****

**I've always wished that I could fly**. Though it's sort of a four-year old dream, that desire has stayed with me since my youth. When I was younger, I'd dream that I'd sprout wings and emerge like a butterfly from its cocoon, and just fly somewhere. Anywhere.

The closest I've ever come to fulfilling that dream is zip lining. A few years ago I went with Mom and we had an absolute blast. We practically flew over this huge valley full of trees and even a big creek, and it seemed like anything was possible.

As I prepared for my trip to Pensacola, Florida, I felt just… weird. Kind of like when you use spray-on sun block and for a minute your entire body has this odd sensation like you've just been encased in electric butter. Your skin tingles and you're kind of sticky and then it goes away and everything is normal again.

Except that right now nothing had gone away.

I was faced with a big dilemma: what was I going to pack? Should I take something nice, in case we went out to eat? Or, since Jess had a young daughter, should I just bring jeans and t-shirts for the inevitable runs to McDonalds for a Happy Meal?

Remembering my mother's ever-helpful advice from long ago: _"A woman is always prepared for anything_," I decided to go ahead and, well, be prepared. And if my nice clothes got no use, at least—since I was staying in a hotel—no one would see my embarrassment except for me.

I pulled my big traveling suitcase out of my closet and packed the standard things: flannel pajama bottoms, aspirin, tampons. I threw in Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult for the hell of it, even though I've read it five times already.

I was still not entirely sure about what kind of clothes I needed to bring; in the end I had two types of clothing: regular clothes that were stylish and feminine; and at-home clothes that were comfortable yet pretty frumpy. Think sweats and old band t-shirts.

Everything was packed by Monday, and I was leaving on Friday. Fan-f-ing-tastic.

I had work until Thursday, but nothing else. I really had no friends here in Phoenix, except maybe Laurie from Printing and the seven-year old boy down the hall in 6A named Brian that I sometimes babysat.

Sonic Youth played over my iPod speakers, and I sang along with the lyrics that I actually knew. I tapped my fingers on the table. I opened the refrigerator, and then shut it. I turned on the TV and then remember that my cable had been cancelled, so I turned it back off. I opened a book and couldn't focus, so I closed it and put it back on the shelf. I ended up arranging my sock drawer.

There really wasn't anything to do, so finally I decided to go for a walk around town, even though it was a million and two degrees out and the air was so dry that sitting in the shade made me thirsty.

As I turned on Arid Drive—very appropriately named, huh?—I nearly slammed into someone else. I looked up to apologize, and then half-gasped when I saw who it was.

Holy freaking shit.

Life is weird sometimes. I'm sure everyone with a brain has noticed that, but for some reason I think I notice it more than others. Maybe it has something to do with the way I was raised; Lorelai always emphasized the abnormal and anomalous. It was atypical of her if she didn't notice the ironic-ness of something, whether it be a news story or the name of an off-brand canned vegetable.

It would make sense that once Jess re-entered my life, so would someone else that I hadn't really expected to ever see or hear from again.

Narcolepsy Boy.

"Dean?" I said in a little bit of a shock. What the hell was he doing in Phoenix?

"Hi, Rory!" he exclaimed, like it wasn't at all weird that we'd run into each other here. He made it seem like we were still back in Stars Hollow and I'd just met him at Doose's: completely normal.

"What are you doing here?"

"I live here." Shit squared. "Why are you here?"

"What a coincidence!" I squeaked with a fake smile plastered on my face. "I live here, too."

"That's awesome! What street do you live on?"

"59th," I say with a sinking feeling. I probably should have lied. Really, all I needed was Narcolepsy Boy knocking on my door at all hours of the day. Maybe I could ask him to water my plants while I was in Florida. That would be pretty hilarious. _"Hey, Dean? Remember Jess? Well, I'm visiting him for a couple weeks and I was wondering if you could watch my house while I'm gone? You know, like get the mail and keep my plants watered? Thanks. Jess and I really appreciate it."_ I could imagine the look on his face all-too well.

As I fought the urge to snicker at my mental image, he answered, "That's awesome! I live on 56th and Washington!" Okay, how many times was he going to say _awesome_? He sounded like a prepubescent skater. A prepubescent, possibly very _high_ skater.

"Oh, cool," I said with fake excitement.

"Well, my wife is back at the house. Do you want to go get a cup of coffee?" he asked. For one horrifying second, when he mentioned _wife _and _house_, I was terrified that he was going to ask me to meet her. Uh, how many ways can I say _no f-ing way_? Like, "_Hi, Mrs. Forester. I used to date your husband in High School, and then I was the woman he had an affair with when he was married the first time. Nicetomeetyou." _

A cup of coffee was okay. Safe. Meant nothing. Though I had no more feelings for Dean, and the very thought of him sort of disgusted me, I didn't want to risk the fact that hidden feelings of his might come up again. Nobody needed that.

However, the closest coffee place was the Starbuck's at Barnes & Noble, and nothing in me wanted to have a memory of Dean in the same place that I had this great memory of Jess.

"Well, I'm on my way to work, actually, so I can't," I lied, smiling fakely. He raised his eyebrow and I saw him looking at my outfit, and then I realized that my wardrobe choices weren't proving my lie very well. I wore your average frumpy, around-the-house clothes. The navy Converse shoes on my feet didn't help much either. "I'm just running in to get something."

But he was persistent. "How about sometime next week, then?" Well, at least I had an actual excuse this time.

"Oh, I'm going on a trip next week."

"To where?" he asked, looking curious but also like he didn't believe me.

"I'm going to Florida to visit Jess. You know, Mariano? Remember him?" I fought a grin and turned a laugh into a hack/snort/sneeze as I saw Dean's face turn five million different shades of red.

That sure shut him up quick.

"Well, I'll see you around then maybe some other time I don't know don't be a stranger though okay well I better get home then alright goodbye," he babbled in one giant run-on sentence, not even pausing to take a breath. He turned and started walking in the opposite direction he came from, and I wondered where he was going before he saw me.

Okay, I guess that added a little excitement to the day. Or at least some humor.

*****

Somehow I made it to Friday without pulling my teeth out just for something to do.

My plane was leaving super early at 6:45 a.m., so I got up a 4:45 to double-check my suitcase and carry-on making sure that I had everything I needed. After a quick breakfast I dressed in some comfortable, travel-friendly clothes. The hair was what it was, so I just let it be.

I left a little too early for my flight, and ended up having to wait for a _loong_ time at the bar. I pulled Shelter Me by Juliette Fay out of my bag and flipped through it, trying to interest myself in Janie's isolation, sorrow, and rage which would normally capture my attention easily.

Finally, I'm settling into my seat in coach—God, I with I didn't have to fly coach anymore—and trying to settle in for the long day ahead of me.

By the time we've taken off, I'm already super pissed-off at everyone on this plane. The stewardess keeps dropping things and the lady behind me keeps complaining to her friend about her husband in a loud and abrasive voice. The businessman next to me, with his double-chin and laptop, keeps moving his briefcase with his foot and it keeps bashing into my ankle. The woman on the other side of me, with her platinum blonde hair and heavy eye makeup keeps leaning over the seat to make out with some guy she met at the bar that happened to be on the same plane ride, and every time she does her breasts practically pop out. It's sickening.

I snack on peanuts and try my hardest not to throw the businessman's briefcase at the tramp next to me, then throw the size 2 bitch at the woman behind me and yell at everyone on the plane to shut the hell up. Then again, maybe just hiding in the lavatory would be a better idea, but, oh - guess what, I can't, because some couple decided to get friendly and leave everyone else to pee on themselves.

I turn on my iPod and close my eyes, trying to pretend that I'm somewhere else. Anywhere. Pick a place, and I can almost guarantee that I'd rather be there. Work, Stars Hollow, an island without food or shelter or any other means to survive… But preferably in Jess's arms.

Eventually I managed to fall asleep, and I didn't wake until the plane was preparing to land. Thank Jesus.

I stumbled off the plane, groggy and fairly incoherent, and waited for my suitcase on the little conveyer belt-thingy. What was it called again? I pondered this as I waited… and waited… and waited… and, well, waited. It still didn't come.

Shitshitshitshitshitshit. What the hell was I going to wear for the next two weeks? I found a place to fill out a form that would do something to get my suitcase back (I really didn't care what it said as long as I could get away from this God-forsaken airline.) I briefly considered just tossing my two-way ticket and finding another airline to fly back with.

Finally—oh, so finally—I had a rental car, and I was driving down the sunny Florida streets with my carry-on bag in the trunk, the radio on, and the undeniable feeling of excitement and anticipation in my stomach. All the windows were down and the sun-roof was open, so the sun was warm on my head and the wind blew all of my escaped hairs all around. I put on my sunglasses and wondered if people who saw me on the streets could mistake me for someone who lives here.

Jess had given me his address, but, after I got lost and turned around too many times to count, I called him to not only let him know that I was in town but that I had no idea where the hell I was. He laughed genuinely when I told him that I already hated it here because every street looks exactly the same, and then he stayed on the phone with me and gave me directions until I could see him standing in his front yard with a little girl riding her bike in the driveway. I parked on the street and jumped out of the car, excited to see him. I flung myself into his arms in a friendly hug and then Jess introduced me to Paige.

"How old are you?" I asked, kneeling to her level.

"I'm four and three-quarters, to be exact," she said, and I laughed at how she sounded much older than what she was, looked, and sounded.

"Wow. You're such a big girl. Can I see your bike?" after she was done showing me her Barbie bike, with its horn, tassels on the handles, and training wheels which she would "get off soon enough, because Daddy says he'll teach me and then Ricky Green won't make fun of me anymore," she looked up at Jess and said, completely serious,

"Rory's pretty. And I like her. Will you marry her instead of Jenny Finch's mean ol' mom?" I laugh and Jess looks a little horrified, so, to tease him, I ask, "Who's Jenny Finch's mom? Is she someone I should know about?"

"She's nobody," Jess starts, but Paige interrupts.

"Jenny Finch's mom is _ug-ly_. And she doesn't let us watch TV when I'm at her house. I bet _Rory_ would let me watch TV, Daddy."

Well, I guess I made a good first impression on Paige.

An hour later, when Jess made Paige go take a nap, much to her distress ("But I want to show Rory my Barbies, Daddy! _Please_ let me stay up!") Jess and I sat across from each other at the kitchen table.

"So," he says.

"So," I repeat.

"I guess we should talk, then."

"Yep. I guess we should."

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**A/N: **Please review! If you're reading this story, you better be reviewing. Yeah. Uh-huh. Don't make me come over there!


	4. Chapter Four: Hysteria

**Title:** Falling In Love In a Coffee Shop

**Author:** DoYouCareEnough

**Rating:** T for language, and maybe some sexual themes. (Ha! It makes it sounds like it's a movie or something!)

**Summary:** Five years after Rory turns down Logan's proposal and graduates from Yale University, she's faced with the man she once loved, lost, turned down once, and turned down again. Is it love again, or has too much damage been done?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gilmore Girls.

**A/N:** Yeah, Vera Cobb, I left in the part about the music. Though your point was legit, like I explained in my email, I wanted to keep it the way it was. Thanks, though. I really appreciate all of your help.

To everyone else: Thanks so much for reading, already this story is almost more favorite-d than "Two to Tango," in just three chapters!

Chapter Four

Hysteria

*****

"**Why didn't you just call? **Was writing an entire book more your style?" I asked, jumping right into the conversation. I could hear Paige moving around in her bedroom even though she was supposed to be napping, and I wondered if Jess was so deep in thought that he couldn't hear, or if he was just choosing to ignore it. I would bet on his ignoring it, considering Paige has poor Jess wrapped around her finger.

"I didn't know what to say. For all I knew, you could have been married with three kids by now. Or you could be a nun." I grimaced at that. Does he know me at all? "My whole thought process was that if you really did care for me, you would find the book and read it. You know, that whole cheesy 'if it's meant to be it will ' stuff."

"I waited a long time, Jess," I said quietly.

"So did I," he shot back, raising his eyebrows. He didn't say it mean or confrontational, just like he was revealing something I hadn't seen before. Which, in a way, he was. For some reason I've never thought of Jess waiting. It's really atypical of him; he's always moving and going, never really slowing down for anything or anyone. He's a drifter. Always getting bored, always getting the desperate need to move on.

Like a song stuck on repeat, Jess and I have never really moved forward or backward. We've always just been Jess and Rory—not much else. We're never in the right place at the right time for us to really start our relationship right. Especially after everything with Logan; I think it really hurt him that I'd let this jerk treat me the way he did. I guess it's easy to forget that you're not the only one who's hurting in a relationship.

I've always wondered where the justice is in life. You get screwed over time and time again, but there's never any reconciliation at the end. Like that over-used phrase: "Life's a bitch and then you die." Like, it's hard to find where the mercy comes in.

"I don't know what to say," I whispered.

"Do you think we can do this? Again?"

"I don't know." Could we? "We're different now. Will different work?" He shrugged and I just had to laugh as I realized something. "Neither of us has any idea what's going on." Jess laughed too. "This is so pathetic." And suddenly we were both laughing; hysterically, hopelessly, desperately. It felt good, but after a little while, he shushed me and pointed in the direction of Paige's room, as if he had just remembered that she was sleeping. I put a hand over my mouth to muffle my snickers, but the moment I released a breath I started to laugh again.

"Do I need to slap you?" he asked, and that made me laugh even harder.

"I don't… know why I'm… laughing!" I gasped between giggles. "This isn't funny!" Finally, I manage to stop. Geez. "Okay. I'm good. I promise." But this whole thing was too hysterical if you really thought about it. First, he wrote me a book. Then I come down here, no questions asked. I lose my luggage, bond with his kid and still, neither of us have any idea what's going on between us. Classic.

"So we wing it?"

I rolled my eyes at him, smiling. "I guess we wing it. See what happens."

"Geez," he muttered. I agreed. This was so dumb.

*****

One thing that I've always loved about Jess is that he's so easy to talk to. For the whole thirty minutes that Paige's nap lasted (Jess let it go because she was excited for company) we just sat and… talked. Nothing terribly deep, but nothing really insignifigant, either. Jess watched a movie when Paige woke up, because she had her mind set on showing me everything in the house in great detail: "This is Daddy's desk. You see the ding on the side? That's when I ran into it with my skates. Boy, was he mad!"

I thought Paige was hilarious. I don't know why she's taken to me so well. I've never been especially great with kids, so her instant liking of me came as a surprise. Or maybe she just attached herself to me because I was willing to listen to every random, insignifigant thought that popped into that strange brain of hers?

She insisted that I make her dinner, so while Jess set the table I made her a peanut butter, jelly, and banana sandwich and then quesadillas for us two adults. I remembered how much Jess liked spicy foods, so I had an entire array of spices out on the counter, and Paige, who liked the smell of the cayenne pepper (God knows why) stuck her finger in the glass container, put it in her mouth, and then had to spend the next fifteen minutes sucking on an ice cube.

When everything was ready—I'm an ace Mexican food maker, so it didn't take that long—we sat down at the table and began to eat. Paige had flipped the switch on the stereo speakers, so _Blue Orchid_ by The White Stripes was playing. She was bobbing her head along with the music as she started on her sandwich.

"You like The White Stripes?" I asked, and she nodded her head up and down quickly, stuffing a piece of crust into her mouth and washing it down with milk. "Oh, my Lord. Are you serious?" I directed this question to Jess, and he laughed. "Why is she listening to _your_ bands? How about some Hannah Montana? Or the Jonas Brothers?" I asked Paige, and she shook her head.

"Daddy says that Hannah Montana is just another untalented kid trained by Disney to make money. And the Jonas Brothers are only famous because prepubescent girls like their purity rings."

I looked at Paige in disbelief. "How old _are_ you?" And then to Jess, "What are you doing to this poor child?" he laughed again, and when Paige wasn't paying attention, I said, "It's obvious you need me more than I thought."

And with that, we finished our dinner and, much to Paige's disappointment, it was time for her to go to sleep.

*****

Jess and I stayed up late, watching TV, and I was surprised at how easy it was to lean into him and how natural it seemed when his arm wrapped around my shoulders. I felt relaxed and comfortable there, laughing together at the on-screen shenanigans. At some point he changed the channel to the new and I couldn't help but find it endearing, the way Jess would keep shaking his head and clicking his tongue at things the anchors said.

"Idiots. All of them."

I grinned. "Oh, hey. That reminds me. I brought you some of my articles to read. Some stuff from the Obama Campaign trail, and recent stuff."

"Well, I've already read all of the Obama stuff."

"Really?" I asked, not believing him.

"Yeah. What Luke didn't send me, I got myself," he said casually, and I smiled.

Sweet. He read my stuff, I thought in a stupid voice. Awesome.

*****

I spent the night on Jess's couch, since we were up really late and I didn't feel like going back to the hotel. I borrowed some pajama bottoms and an old t-shirt of his so I had something to wear. I promised myself that I was going to find a Victoria's Secret and buy myself some new underwear. It would be fun and, besides, there was no way I was going to wait until my suitcase arrived (if it ever did) to change my undies.

I kept waking up in the middle of the night, disoriented. Where the hell was I? Once I realized, I'd get to thinking, and then it would take forever for me to fall asleep, and then the process would repeat every fifteen minutes. Finally, around four in the morning, I decided to just stay up. I was going to be tired either way.

I felt weird wandering the house, so I stuck to the living room. I looked through his CDs, his movies and then his books. Looking through his books was my favorite. It was pretty cool to see his new additions over the last few years, and to go through all of them and see his notes in the books I'd already read. It was kind of spooky when I flipped open one of the books that I'd read as well and saw his sloppy scrawl in a margin that mirrored my own thoughts when I'd read it myself. "Preparation for death, or for the life after death?" Yikes. Weird.

A half an hour after I chose to wake up for good, Jess came down the hallway and caught me looking at his copy of _Island of Lost Girls_.

"Why do you own this?" I asked. "This is so not your taste in books."

"Maybe it's not mine," he answered heavily.

Oh. I understand. It belonged to Paige's mom. Well. Moving on…

We spent the next few hours talking some more. This time we got a little deeper - like into how I feel about not talking to my mother and whatnot. He talked about when Paige was born, about how he was perfectly fine as he called Luke and told him all about the birth and how Paige's mom was doing. But when Luke asked, "So how do you feel?"…that was when Jess completely broke down crying. I had to laugh at that one; it was so sweet.

Paige woke up early, and we all went out to eat at Panera Bread—me wearing the same clothes I did yesterday, yuck—and when we got back, I saw an unfamiliar yellow Porsche in the driveway. A _Porche_?

"Jess, whose car is that?" I asked, but he didn't answer. All of a sudden his face took on this faraway look, and I could read his thoughts perfectly: Oh, shit.

Oh, boy. Do I even want to know?

He picked up Paige and I followed them both inside. Once we were inside the foyer, I could hear the distinct sound of stiletto heels clacking on the fake stone floor. I don't know why, but that sound brings up so many crappy memories of the time when I was with Logan that straight away I just knew who it was. I'd never seen her before in my life but I might as well have known her for years.

Paige's mom.

"Brooke," Jess stammered in disbelief.

"Mommy!" Paige cried, and I was sure I could hear my whole world crashing around me.

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**A/N**: Review, please. I love reviews, and reviews make me love you. SO DO IT!


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